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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. charge — a price
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. saw — the tool
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. drill — army training
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — to play on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tube — a container
  16. charge — in control
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — the tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. charge — electricity
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — the fish
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com